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The Commoner
MAY,-1917 ,
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Secretary Balfour's Speech
A Washington dispatch, dated May 5, say:
Arthur J. Balfour, British foreign minister, ad
dressed the house of representatives today, as
follows:
"Will you permit me on behalf of my friend
and myself, to offer you my deepest and sln
cerest thanka for the rare and valued honor
which you have done us by receiving us hero ttf
day? We all feel the greatness of this honor,
but I think to none of us can it come home so
closely as to one who, like myself, has been for
forty-three years in the service of a free assem
bly like your own.
"I rejoice to think that a member, a very old
member I am sorry to say, of the British house
of commons has been received here today by this
great sister assembly with such kindness as you
have shown to me and my friends.
"Ladies and Gentlemen These two assem
blies are the greatest and the oldest of the free
assemblies now governing great nations in the
world. The history indeed of the two is- very
different. The beginnings of the British house
of commons go back to a dim historic past, and
its full rights and status have only been con
quered and permanently secured after centuries
of political struggle.
"Your fate has been a happier one. You were
called into existence at a much later stage of
social development. You came into being com
plete and perfected and all your powers deter
mined and your place in the Constitution se
cured beyond chance of revolution, but though
the history of these two great assemblies is dif
ferent, each of them represents the great dem
ocratic principle to which we look forward as
the security of the future peace of the world.
All of the free assemblies now to be found gov
erning the great nations of the earth have been
modeled either upon your practice or upon ours
or upon both combined.
"Mr. Speaker, the compliment paia to the
mission from Great Britain by such an assembly
and upon such an occasion is one not one of us
is ever likely to forget, but there is something,
after all, even deeper and more significant in
the circumstances under which I now have the
honor to address you than any which arise out
of the interchange of courtesies, however sin
cere, between two great and friendly nations.
"We all, I think, feel instinctively that this is
one of the great moments in the history of the
world and .that what is now happening on both
sides of the Atlantic represents the drawing to
gether of great and free peoples for mutual pro
tection against the aggression of military des
potism. "I am not one of those none of you are
among those who are such bad democrats as to
say that democracies make no mistakes. All free
assemblies have made blunders, sometimes they
have committed crimes' Why is it that we look
forward to the spirit of free institutions, and
especially among our present enemies, as one
of the greatest guarantees of the future peace
of the world? I will say to you, gentlemen, how
it seems to me.
"It is quite true that the people and the rep
resentatives of the people may be betrayed by
some momentary gust of passion into a policy
which they ultimately deplore; but it is only a
military despotism of the German type that can
through generations, if need be, pursue stead
ily, remorselessly, unscrupulously and appall
ingly the object of dominating the civilization
of mankind. And, mark you, this evil, this
menace under which we are now suffering is
not one which diminishes w4th the growth of
knowledge and progress of, material civiliza
tion, but on the contrary, it increases, with
them. """"
"When I was young we used to flatter our
selves that progress inevitably meant peace,
and that growth of knowledge was always ac
companied v as its natural fruit by the growth of
good will among the nations of the earth. Un
happily we know -better now, and we know
there is such a thing irf the world as a power
which can with unvarying persistency focus all
the resources of knowledge and of civilization
into the one great task of making itself the
moral and material master of the world. It is
againBt that danger that wo, the free peoplo of
western civilization, have banded ourselves to
gether. "It is in that great causo that wo aro going
to fight and aro fighting at this very moment
eido by side. In that causo wo shall surely con
quer and our childron will look back to this
fateful date as the one from which democracies
can feel secure that their progress, their civili
zation, their rivalry, If need bo, will bo con
ducted not on German linos, but in the friendly
and Christian spirit which really bofita the ago
in which wo live.
"Mr. Speaker, ladies and gentlemen, I beg
most sincerely to repeat again how heartily I
thank you for the cordial welcome which you
have given us today and to repeat my profound
sense of the significance of this uniquo meeting."
BD3LS TEST FOR IMMIGRANTS
For the 'literacy test of immigrants under the
new law the Bible will be used, the department
of labor announces. Passages will be selectod
in more than 100 languages and dialects so
that practically every class of immigrant can
be examined in the language with which he is
familiar. The department statement says tho
Bible is not selected because it is considered a
sacred book by many peoplo, "but because it is
now tho only book in virtually every tongue.
Translations of the Bible were made by eminent
scholars, and, what is more to the point, the
translating was done by men whoso purpose it
was to put tho Bible in such simple and idio
matic expressions in tho various foreign lan
guages as would make it possible for the com
mon peoplo of foreign countries to grasp tho
meaning readily and thoroughly."
BRYAN'S OFFER STANDS ALONE
Former Secretary of State Bryan has estab
lished a unique record. Mr. Bryan is the first
of tho men prominent in tho nation's affairs who
has offered his services to tho federal govern
ment, and expressed a willingness to serve as
a private.
The war department has received offers of
service from other men enjoying national rep
utations, but these patriots are not so modest
as Mr. Bryan. They have offered to servo in
any capacity from field marshal to general, but
none, like Mr. Bryan, as a private.
Mr. Bryan's offer struck a responsive chord
in the bosoms of tho ofllcfials of tho war de
partment. Washington Post.
Nebraska's legislature finally passed a prohi
bition law that its sponsors assert has put teeth
into the amendment adopted last fall. Eighteen
senators, sixteen democrats and two republicans,
who composed the rearguard of tho brewery
politicians of the state, fought vainly for weeks
to force the dry house to accept tho senate
amendments, every one of which was drawn in
the interest either of the brewer or distiller or
tho men who fought prohibition in 1916 because
they objected to being deprived of liquor. Only
one important concession was made by the
house, and that was practically forced by tho
attitude of Governor Neville. This permits per
sons to havo in their homes a reasonable
amount of liquor no limit but provides that
possession, in case of a prosecution, shall be
taken as prima facie evidenco of an intent to
violate tho Jaw.
The railroad companies of the country, fol-
lowing the rule of safety first, prohibit employe
from drinking either on or off duty. If it finds
out that they are using liquor at any time they
are first warned, then fired. The government
should adopt the same system in dealing with
its army. The senate has voted to prohibit
drinking only when In uniform. This is not a
wod way to secure that efficiency. The govern
ment ought to learn some lessons from Industry.
The fact that there does not seem to be any
thing wrong with the health of the su tan of
Turkey would appear to indicate some slipup im
the theory that it Is worry that kill.
SELLING LIQUOR TO SOLDIERS IK WAK'
TBMK
From tho San Francisco Examiner.
A deplorable situation exists in San Franctee
as regards tho "sealed package" liqaor houses.
Under tho municipal ordinance, as It now
stands, tho police commission Is forced to greet
licenses of this kind to all who make written
application, regardless of the location and
without respect for tho wishes of tho reeMeat
of tho neighborhood where the baslnee U te
bo established.
Tho police commission can not regulate or
control theso places after it has created them,
and tho only ground upon which It cam revoke
a "scaled packngo" llconso is because liquor has
been drunk on tho promisee.
This is nothing lcse than absurd. It mean
that tho city has created a nuisance which It
does not glvo itself the power to abate. Saefc
an ordinanco should either be amended In ac
cordance with tho dictates of reason or re
pealed forthwith.
Theodore Roche, president of the police com
mission, wants it amended to bring the whole
salers under tho control of the commlesloe, te
give tho commission tho right to limit the nu
bor of licenses that shall bo issued, and to ee
a littlo discrimination in handing them omi.
Tho board of supervisors should so amead
tho ordinance at the very next meeting.
Tho chief objection to tho "sealed package
places now is their presence in large number
in the vicinity of tho Presidio. Some of the
local authorities are firmly convlncod that there
should bo no liquor selling establishments lo
cated anywhere near tho Presidio. That is a
sound view. Morally thero Is little difference
between spiking a gun and loading a soldier
with liquor. Saloonkoopors who weaken the
manhood defense of tho nation In these tlraee
ought to be dealt with severely and promptly.
Tho destructive effoct of drink on the effi
ciency of an army is well known. There are
now many soldiers In 8an Francisco, and other
aro constantly arriving. A large percentage
aro boya, many of thorn from tho rural district
gottfng their first taste of "life" in the city.
It is the duty of tho civil and military au
thorities to guard theso young rocruits from
harm while they aro being trained to serve thetr
country. And it is their duty to kee ever ta.
mind tho efficiency of our growing army.
Neither of these patriotic duties can be die
charged by granting licenses to "sealed peck
ago" liquor houses to establish themselves with
in a stone's throw of tho reservation, there te(
sell strong drink under tho permit of the law
and to dispense opium and other drags whoa
they can do bo vithout being caught.
Let tho police commission have control of
these licenses in just the same way that it ha
control of the saloon licenses. There should be
fixed responsibility so that thero can be strict
accountability.
The Nebraska house paid $258 to have pray
ers said for it by a chaplain during the. last
session, while tho Iowa house appropriated bnt
$88 for the purpose. If any Mva man happen,
to suggest that the figures Jrely show the
comparative needs of tho two houses, a Ne
braska man is at perfect liberty to retort that
it seemed so great a waste of effort for a.
preacher to pray for an Iowa legislature that no
minister would tako moro than $88.
The American to whom posterity will dele
gate the task of writing the history of tbe
United States between 1915 and 1920 will have
a comparatively easy task if someone of today
only has the forethought to list all the pro
foundly significant things our profoundly insig
nificant publicists have discovered ee kvring
occurred.
A good politician Is generally supposed to be
a chap who is always able, no matter what
caused the explosion, to light oa hie feet. X
littlo closer observation would disclose that the
real ability shown was in not alighting oa the
feet of others.
War is beginning- to pinch all claeee. fc
mayor of New York has ordered tke bars aad
restaurants where liquor is served la th ejtjr
to cloee at 1 o'clockHn the morning ""
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